Hong Kong, Friday 28 August 2009: A new partnership between World Vision International and QuestNet Ltd will ensure the lives of 121 impoverished children in 11 countries are enriched with education opportunities, health care, and support systems.

The two-year sponsorship programme will represent the most far-reaching global initiative in the history of established charity organisation, World Vision.

As part of the programme, QuestNet has donated USD 110,000 to benefit 11 children living in poverty-stricken conditions in each of the programme’s 11 targeted countries, which include Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and India. The children live in disadvantaged regions and communities that World Vision has identified as being in need of great assistance and development.

World Vision, a non-profit child-focused emergency, relief, development and advocacy organisation, and QuestNet, an international direct selling company with a history of philanthropic activities through its ‘QuestNet Pays Forward’ initiative, will oversee the sponsorship programme over two years.

The manner in which the donations are utilised will be on a case-by-case basis to guarantee the sponsorship is tailored to best meet the individual needs of each child. The support infrastructure and local-level knowledge and access of World Vision will ensure maximum benefit to the children who need it most.

In addition, the communities of the children shall not be passive recipients of the support, but will be actively involved in the planning and fulfilment of the sponsorship so as to foster self-sufficiency and sustainability within the community. The objective is to ensure the benefit borne of the sponsorship will continue long after the programme has ended in 2011.

“This partnership and the life-changing deeds that will come of it is so close to our hearts,” said QuestNet Executive Chairperson Ms Donna Imson, who is also a trustee of RYTHM Foundation, the official Corporate Social Responsibility arm of QuestNet.

“One of our underlying motivations is our belief that children are our future. Both the ‘QuestNet Pays Forward’ initiative and RYTHM Foundation are committed to ensuring a safe and supportive environment that every child rightly deserves to grow up in. World Vision shares this commitment and I am confident that together we can truly make a difference in the lives of these children and their families.

“We also foresee this as the beginning of a long partnership with World Vision and as being a catalyst for the representatives in our direct selling network, as well as corporate staff, to personally sponsor children through World Vision.”

QuestNet Managing Director, Mr JR Mayer said the sponsorship programme was a meaningful way for QuestNet to have a truly positive impact in the regions the company operates.

“Our company’s mission is RYTHM, meaning Raise Yourself To Help Mankind,” said Mr Mayer. “We believe that when we do business in a country, our responsibility does not end with our business dealings. We have a responsibility to the community also. In QuestNet’s 11-year history, we have always endeavoured to give something back to the communities of the many countries we do business in. That is the concept of ‘QuestNet Pays Forward’ and of this partnership with World Vision.”

World Vision Director for Publics-in-Ministry, Mr Boris Joaquin, said QuestNet’s sponsorship was the most wide-spread and extensive corporate programme that World Vision has partnered with to date.

“No other corporate initiative has touched this many lives in so many countries in the communities that need it the most,” he said.

“We are grateful to QuestNet and their strong showing of support for the children of our world. Child Sponsorship works by giving these 121 children a chance. In some places this means advocating for and with children, in other places it is as simple as giving a child a satchel and some books and helping them go to school, or it might mean assisting families so they can achieve economic sustainability. But overall, this partnership will help combat the complex problems that affect children.”

The sponsorship programme is also in conjunction with QuestNet’s 11th Anniversary, with 11 families in 11 countries receiving the two-year assistance. The support will go to children and families in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tajikistan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.

The partnership was officially announced at a press conference held in Hong Kong on Friday 28 August 2009.

About QuestNet Ltd

QuestNet is an international direct selling company established in 1998. Operating a global sales force, QuestNet offers a high-quality product portfolio consisting of innovative lifestyle products, including consumable and everyday items, personal care and wellness products, luxury and collectible items, vacation packages, and telecommunications.

QuestNet also provides business opportunities to millions of people around the world by offering entrepreneurial aspirants the opportunity to run their own business through an e-commerce platform, to promote the company and its products. QuestNet provides its representatives with the requisite training and business tools to succeed and champions professional business and marketing practices at both corporate and network levels. Driven by the mission of RYTHM (Raise Yourself To Help Mankind), QuestNet is an active contributor to the support and sustainability of the communities in which it operates.

To know more about QuestNet, visit www.quest.net

About World Vision International

World Vision is a Christian development, relief and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities worldwide to reach their full potential by addressing the causes of poverty and injustice. "Our vision for every child, life in all its fullness. Our prayer for every heart, the will to make it so."

To know more about World Vision International, visit www.worldvision.org